Archbishop's 'shock and sadness' at the violent attack on Malala Yousafzai

Tuesday 16th October 2012

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has expressed his shock and sadness at the violent attack on Malala Yousafzai and two other school girls in Pakistan.

His full statement is below:

"I am profoundly shocked and saddened by news of the attack on Malala Yousafzai and two other school girls in Pakistan. It is all the more shocking that she was deliberately targeted because she bravely spoke out on her love of learning and on the right of all children, girls and boys, to education.

Our prayers are with Malala, her family and community, as we all await the outcome of her treatment and pray that she will make a full recovery. We stand in solidarity with communities in Pakistan and around the world as we all express our horror at this terrible act of violence on a young girl and demonstrate our commitment to overcome acts of hatred with love and justice. We also stand with Malala in dedicating ourselves to delivering education for every child and in overcoming discrimination against girls in every part of the world. We must commit, by 2015, to achieving quality education for all, including the 61 million children now out of school around the world."